Communication and Learning

Tiffany R. Wang

17Social Perspectives on Student Learning

Abstract: “Social identities influence who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we relate to others” (Torres, 2011, p. 203). Family members, mentors, teachers, and peers shape students’ identity development through childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood as students learn the norms, customs, and ideologies that will shape how they engage with other people and the community/society they are a part of. The contemporary student population is not homogenous. Students represent high levels of diversity differing in age, gender, race/ ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and disability. Understanding different types of social identity is salient to understanding student ...